I’d hope readers here understand the most basic reason it is necessary to question experts? Link: Very simply it is because appealing to authority is logically fallacious. For many reasons.Link : Whether the person is actually an authority or not, the logic of presenting their authority as evidence is unsound. No authority is infallible. No authority is as pure as the driven snow. Not every authority can resist a good pay cheque. An abundance of research grants? Possible celebrity status? Appeals to vanity? And other, shall we say, perks?These very facts, these realities, should make very clear that evidence which can stand up to scrutiny is the best authority. Question authority -- or become the authority that people look to for answers.In other words educate yourself. Ask questions. Require evidence.How do you avoid appeal to authority fallacy?Be aware that even if you're appealing to a relevant authority, it's still possible to engage in fallacious logic. To avoid doing so remember to keep an open mind, ask probing, sensible questions that get to the heart of the issue, as objectively as possible. Albert Camus, The Plague (1947): The only way to fight the plague is honesty.“And honesty has been in short supply regarding Covid-19, but fear, yes fear has been abundant. I’ll give you an example of ramping up the fear. Today in Ontario, Canada it was reported that Covid cases surged.
And you might think, oh my goodness, the sky is falling! What happened? There must be a whole pile of sick people in emergency rooms with ventilators right? That’s the image you might have in your head given all the hype. However the increase in numbers came about as the province has massively increased testing. It was inevitable that a whole bunch of new cases would arise and sure enough, they did. Doesn’t mean these people are sick. Or that they require hospitalization. Or that they are contagious. It just means this virus, in their system, wasfound due to the massive increase in testing! (I won't even get into the problem with false positives other then to say inform yourself- It's an issue)Let's look at the numbers...
"Ontario reported 170 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday morning, the largest single-day increase in the province since the outbreak began"
Keep on reading and you come to this information:"Some 2,439 tests were completed in the past 24 hours" The just completed mass testing resulted in the new numbers of infected. The province is intending to continue testing until they clear the backlog which should take on average 4 days..
"There are approximately 10,965 people awaiting test results. Some 2,439 tests were completed in the past 24 hours, and there remains a backlog of at least, on average, four days"
So far, a total of 38,550 people have been approved for testing, the province has said.
38,550 people have been approved for testing? That's interesting.*How or why did these people get approved for testing? *Was certain criteria required to be met before testing? I'd sure like to know!Flattening the Curve- The province will flatten the curve through the magic of massaging the numbers:
The number of resolved cases is likely to increase considerably in coming days, with public health officials changing the criteria for how cases are recorded. Until now, a case was not considered resolved until the infected person had two negative tests, performed at least 24 hours apart.
Instead, a case will be marked resolved if the infected person feels fine after a two-week isolation period.
Is that clear enough to you? The province will mass test for the next few days to clear the backlog. And after two weeks of "self quarantine" if you feel fine you're case will be resolved. Check your calendar? This takes you to Easter week end. Approximately April 11-13/20. The authorities will "flatten the curve" by massaging the numbers through a simple change of test parameters. Hopefully it isn't lost on you that by requiring the second and third tests (two consecutive negatives) the "authority" could ramp up the anxiety inducing fear by labeling the cases as "not resolved" Honesty hasn't been the means or the method of fighting the Covid "plague"We'll all know in short order how 'successful' the mass quarantine was. True or not, it won't matter.
"There are three kinds of lies:lies, dam lies and statistics.
A virus is sweeping Europe: the virus of obedience.
Dr Norman Lewis is a writer and managing director of Futures Diagnosis.Some select, very good points he made are included below:
"A new intolerance is spreading. It is a kind of bigotry that suggests that those of us who are not epidemiologists should just shut the fuck up and accept and act upon what we are being told by those who are. As non-experts, we are exhorted to submit humbly to those who apparently know what is best for us – to defer to expertise and stop second-guessing uncertainty.
The sneering tone of contempt for ordinary people’s attempts to make sense of the coronavirus crisis on social media is redolent of 19th-century elitist prejudices about a natural order and the need for deference.It is not just the malice and deeply condescending tone of these champions of expertise that should spark anger. It is their attempt to close down debate that is most troubling. Because that is precisely the opposite of what should be happening right now.
The first point we need to keep in mind is that no one, including real epidemiologists and ‘armchair epidemiologists’, has a monopoly on the truth.
The demand for obedience, the intolerance towards ordinary people’s efforts to get a handle on reality, is an indulgence that might flatter the egos of self-appointed experts. But it does a disservice to society, and to experts too, in fact.
One thing we should do is challenge inconsistencies. For example, two weeks ago we were told that people assembling in large gatherings in open sports stadiums was not a major threat. Today, we are being told that walking in a park with someone without observing the two-metre distance rule is an act of irresponsibility. If we accept, and perhaps we should, that new data has come to light that shows such measures are now needed, then this would make sense. But no such explanation has been made.
As Erwin Schrödinger, the great Austrian physicist, put it: ‘If you cannot – in the long run – tell everyone what you have been doing, your doing has been worthless.’"